


Why Did You Come After Me?

by thelocalmaniac



Series: Lucio Is Smitten [3]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Canon Compliant, Gender-Neutral Apprentice (The Arcana), Gender-Neutral Pronouns, In which Lucio isn't used to being cared about, Nmaed Apprentice, Nonbinary Apprentice (The Arcana), Nonbinary Character, Other, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, soft lucio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 21:55:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21260243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelocalmaniac/pseuds/thelocalmaniac
Summary: "Elodie, you are an incredible magician, and super fucking cute--” Elodie snickered into their hand at the compliment. “--but it made no sense that you came to find me.”





	Why Did You Come After Me?

**Author's Note:**

> The Arcana and its characters do not belong to me.  
Following Chapter X of Lucio's Route.

“Why did you come after me?” 

The question had been bothering Lucio for some time now. Though he was grateful, and he had hoped that they felt the same way as him, he didn’t believe that they would _actually_ come to find him in the Arcana Realm, trapped in Aisha and Salim’s tree. Asra, their parents, and Lucio’s mother had stopped to rest, taking shelter on the beach of the Magician’s Realm, but he hadn’t been ready to rest. It hadn’t been too long ago that he had been covered in snow, after all, and he was full of boundless energy. 

Elodie was picking up shells from the ocean when his words made them pause. They straightened up, looking over their shoulder at him. They had cleaned up since he had been taken by the Devil, Lucio noticed, and a twinge of envy filled his gut. His clothes were stained with dried wyrm blood. But aside from jealousy, their freshly minted appearance mainly made him want to kiss them. “Because I promised I would help you. Why _wouldn’t _I come after you?” 

Lucio did not particularly want to answer questions after being interrogated earlier. Morga had put him in a situation where he had needed to come clean about a lot of bad things he had done, and the apprentice had listened, expression hard, jaw set. But their hands and words had been forgiving, and they had taken his hand anyway. They clearly didn’t approve, but they also_ did not leave_. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you did. I mean, who wouldn’t want to come after the great Count Lucio and--” His voice died in his throat when Elodie gave him a sharp, disbelieving look. He tried again, but with less bullshit this time. “..it just wasn’t really in your best interest. I thought the Devil would get you before you made it, even if you were stupid enough to try.” 

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, you absolute asshole,” Elodie replied dryly. They splashed water into their face and then scrubbed their hands through their hair, working the grime out to the best of their ability. 

“Just saying it like it is.” Lucio smirked. “Elodie, you are an incredible magician, and _super_ fucking cute--” Elodie snickered into their hand at the compliment. “--but it made no sense that you came to find me.” 

With this, he stopped to watch them curiously. 

Humming to themselves, they turned to face him, placing a hand on their hip. “I used blood magic to bond us, as I’m sure you remember. There was a physical strain on my magic for us to be so far apart.” Elodie grinned at him wolfishly. “In other words, it literally hurts for us to be parted.” 

The Count grinned back at them, eyes bright. “Why, was that a proclamation of love? I get those often, you know.” Despite his bragging words, he felt grateful that there was finally someone who _literally _could not leave him. Ever. 

“Oh, yes, _totally_.” Laughing now, Elodie flicked their wrist and sent a substantial wave of water at Lucio, soaking him. As he coughed and spluttered, they added, “But I would have come anyway, y’know.” 

“I can’t be_lieve_ that you just di— Wait, what? You would have? You’d come anyway?” Flinging his wet hair out of his face, the royal stared at them dubiously, waiting for them to take it back. Waiting for it, but also hoping they wouldn’t. He had that same fearful hope in his eyes as he had earlier, when he was asking Elodie to have his back when he told his mother he was changing as a person. 

Elodie met his gaze evenly. Earnestly. “I missed you and I was worried about you.” They shrugged. “Don’t know why, though, since you’re such a pain in my ass.” 

Lucio wasn’t sure he believed the magician’s apprentice, but he had always considered himself a good judge of honesty, and he could tell that, if nothing else, _Elodie_ believed what they were saying. His shoulders sagged as a feeling he could not name spread through him. Then, suddenly, he kicked a foot through the water, splashing them back. “I really cannot believe you splashed me,” he muttered, no longer comfortable talking about intentions and feelings. For now, he trusted Elodie to have his back, even though he didn’t know why. He had begged and bartered and stolen and murdered for power. But Elodie just continued to offer him their trust. And he could not _begin_ to understand what had possessed them to do something so foolish. “I’ll get you for that.” 

The apprentice cackled and tried to duck away from his reaching arms, flushed with laughter and joy, but his arms encircled their waist and lifted them with ease. For a moment his eyes flit to their lips consideringly, and Elodie blinked before closing their eyes, ready for that inevitable kiss-- 

\--but no, he dumped them into the ocean instead. 

Elodie shrieked before they swallowed a mouthful of water. Once they had emerged, they launched themselves at Lucio’s legs and he fell into the shallows gracelessly, cursing and laughing. They wrestled and dunked each other for the better part of an hour before, drenched and shivering, they raced back to the shore to take refuge again. When Lucio shuddered, unable to help himself, Elodie reached out to use magic to dry his clothes, and then their own. Lucio beamed. 

“You are my _favorite _person right now, Elodie.” 

Smiling, the magician shrugged. “Magic definitely has its uses.” Then they scooted closer, resting their head against his arm. “We should get some rest too, though. We’re safe for now.” Surprisingly, Lucio agreed, but not before he had pressed a frenzy of kisses to Elodie’s head and face. Elodie snorted, pushing him away. “This is_ not_ rest.” 

Lucio grinned. “Okay, fine, fine.” He shifted away to get ready to sleep, feeling lighter than he had in years, and then Elodie sprang forward like a coil, grabbing his collar. For a mad moment Lucio thought they were going to hit him, an apology on his lips, but then they kissed him, _devoured _him, and the Count made a broken whimper into their mouth as he responded, and the energy around them was raw and electric as they made out hungrily-- 

Salim made a noise in his sleep, and they froze, breaking apart to inspect him as he stretched before turning to nuzzle into Aisha’s back, mumbling contentedly. 

Elodie and Lucio turned back to giggle quietly, tangled up in one another, noses brushing. Lucio was so _happy_ that he felt his chest could burst, which wasn’t a feeling he was familiar with, but it was a feeling he aspired to feel again, and as often as possible. He pressed one last, lingering kiss to their lips before Elodie pulled away. “We really should sleep before Asra wakes up and murders us both.” To Lucio’s surprise, instead of moving, they made themselves comfortable in his arms, resting their head against his chest happily. When he stared at them, breaking character for a moment, they smiled into his shirt. “What? I thought you liked snuggling?” 

He beamed. “I_ do_.” Kissing the top of the magician’s head, he leaned back into the sand, comforted by the weight of them in his arms, a constant reminder that all of this was real, that Elodie had come back looking for him, that he was safe again. It did not take long for him to drift off, lulled to sleep by their soft snores. 


End file.
